


Standing on Ceremony

by Persiflager



Category: Emmerdale, God's Own Country (2017)
Genre: Future Fic, M/M, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 07:17:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13631367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflager/pseuds/Persiflager
Summary: “We are trying to get married,” says the fit bloke. He’s got a thick accent that Aaron doesn’t recognise - Italian? Russian? “We need two witnesses but our family is unable to attend.”





	Standing on Ceremony

**Author's Note:**

> This is primarily an Emmerdale fic with a brief cameo from Johnny and Gheorghe.

The Mill kitchen is warm and pleasantly cluttered, late morning sunlight streaming in through the stained glass, a stray beam painting a watery green stripe across Robert’s cheek like a smudge from a paint-covered hand. He’s still sleep-soft around the edges, his hair a state, wrapped up in his pyjamas, dressing gown and slippers like the old man Aaron likes to accuse him of being. Neither of them’s showered yet; it’s the weekend, they’re being indulgent. Long morning shag that makes Aaron’s toes curl just thinking about it, then downstairs for a proper fry-up. They’ve been back together for three months now, Robert back in the flat for two and a half, and this has become their Sunday morning routine (plus or minus the two teenagers he now seems to be raising - Aaron should probably find out where they are but right now he’s just glad to have Robert to himself).

“- so I said to Jimmy - are you even listening to me?”

“Nope,” says Aaron, yawning.

Robert’s eyes crinkle and he kicks Aaron gently under the table. “Wanker. Anyway, I’ve got that meeting with the bank tomorrow. Fancy meeting me in town for lunch? We could do a bit of shopping afterwards, get Diane’s present.”

Aaron pulls a face. He knows what shopping with Robert’s like - twenty different shops to try on twenty different versions of the same poncy shirt, then waiting around in Waterstones for hours while Robert faffs about looking at books.

“I’ll take you to that fancy burger place you like,” says Robert, wheedling.

“Yeah, alright then.”

Robert’s face lights up. It’s so easy to make him happy; Aaron can’t understand why he ever thought it would be hard. “So, where are the wonder twins this morning?”

“Good question,” says Aaron, and he texts Liv to find out. It’s not that he worries, exactly; it’s just that he’s well aware of how much trouble Liv’s capable of getting into, and that was before she became best mates with a young offender who gets way too excited about anything involving an open flame.

Liv had been surprisingly alright about Robert moving back in, in the end. She’d kept up an act of hating him at first, all dirty looks and pointed remarks, but Aaron thinks that secretly she was pleased, especially when Robert took charge of sorting out the bills again and helped her scrape a C in her maths mock. 

(Aaron had checked Robert’s brakes every morning for the first couple of weeks though, just in case.)

Aaron’s phone vibrates and he picks it up. “Apparently her and Gerry have been helping Diane out at the B&B. They’re stopping for lunch and do we want to join them or are we going to stay here being gross.” He raises an eyebrow at Robert.

“What do you think,” says Robert, and then he’s up out of his chair and kissing Aaron and they end up going at it right there on the breakfast table, which comes as something of a shock to Vic when she lets herself in but honestly, she should really learn to knock louder.

..

Aaron eventually manages to get away from the scrapyard just after eleven and nips home for the world’s quickest shower and some clean clothes before driving into Hotten.

He still gets a little nervous about leaving Gerry in charge, even if it’s only for a couple of hours. Daz has been a godsend but he’s off on a haulage trip for Robert today, and Gerry has to learn to cope sometime or Aaron will never get a day off.

It does his head in sometimes, being the boss of someone twice his age. Doesn’t seem to bother Daz though - he seems genuinely eager to please, and he knows not to bother Aaron when he doesn’t want to chat. Aaron thinks he might have served time but he’s not going to ask. 

(Adam would approve. He used to joke how fitting it was to have a scrapyard full of ex-cons taking stuff people had thrown away and turning it into cold hard cash. Adam always saw the nice side of things.)

Aaron parks the car and walks to the bank where he finds Robert standing out front on the pavement holding a small paper shopping bag, all suited up and looking like everything Aaron’s ever wanted.

“Done already?” says Aaron, and he goes up on his toes to plant a kiss on Robert’s cheek. “Sweet.”

“You’re not off the hook yet. And you’re late.”

“Some of us have real jobs to do. You know, the sort that get our hands dirty?”

“I like your hands,” says Robert with a grin, and he takes one of Aaron’s in his own.

“Yeah yeah.” They walk along the pavement, hand in hand, enjoying the sunshine, and the thought occurs to Aaron that his teenage self would be horrified.

His teenage self was a fucking idiot.

There’s a pair of men standing outside the registry office as they pass, looking at them, and Aaron tenses. Robert squeezes his hand - in warning or support or just reflex, Aaron can’t tell.

“Excuse me,” says one of them, stepping into their path. “Don’t suppose you could do us a favour, like?”

They stop and Aaron re-assesses the situation. The bloke who spoke is a raw-boned, lanky lad with big ears and a sharp, beaky nose who looks like he rode in on a tractor. The man standing behind him, on the other hand, looks like he just shot an aftershave ad. He’s gorgeous - big dark eyes, dark curly hair, close-cropped beard - Aaron would, basically.

“Sorry,” says Robert, “we’re on our way to-”

“We are trying to get married,” says the fit bloke. He’s got a thick accent that Aaron doesn’t recognise - Italian? Russian? “We need two witnesses but our family is unable to attend.”

“Dad’s not well,” says Big Ears, “and Nan’s had to stay with him, and-”

“Ssh,” says the other one, bumping shoulders, and Aaron knows that look in his eyes, has seen it on Robert a thousand times. “It will be fine.”

“Yes,” says Aaron before Robert can come up with an excuse. “We’d be happy to help.”

..

It’s the shortest, least romantic wedding Aaron’s ever been to. It gets off to a bad start when the clerk assumes that him and Robert are the grooms, then they stand there in awkward silence as she fills in the paperwork and checks the actual grooms’ passports. Aaron can feel Robert bristling with irritation beside him. There’s no vows, no readings, no music - the two blokes (Johnny and Gheorghe, Aaron learns) just fill out the marriage certificate and then Robert and Aaron sign as witnesses and that’s that. 

It’s not the sort of wedding Robert would want at all. Aaron knows a lot about Robert’s thoughts on weddings - from all the plans they originally tossed around to the impromptu one Robert threw together. Robert wanted a wedding that was romantic, classy (he was always going to struggle with that one given the Dingles were coming), and just a little showy. Robert doesn’t just say it proud these days, he shouts it with a megaphone.

Aaron wants to give him all of that - Aaron wants to give him everything - but Aaron is utterly shit at wedding planning. He hates that sort of thing. He hasn’t even managed to propose. They’d put their rings on when they’d got back together and that’s great, but Aaron wants to make it legit and he hasn’t got a fucking clue how to bring it up. And he can’t ask anyone for advice - Liv, Daz and Gerry are clueless, Vic’s got a big gob, and Chas and Paddy are still not-so-secretly hoping that Aaron will ditch Robert and go back to Alex (despite the fact that Alex is now Facebook-official with some bloke from work).

“Cheers,” says Johnny afterwards.

“No problem,” says Aaron, and they leave.

..

“Well, that was a waste of twenty minutes,” says Robert when they’ve sat down at the restaurant. It’s trendy for Hotten, which means reclaimed wood and exposed chrome pipes. Robert likes the decor. Aaron likes the burgers. “Do you think it was some sort of immigration scam?”

“What, in Hotten?”

“You never know.”

A baby wails at the next table and Robert starts to turn before stopping himself with a wince. Aaron waits to see if he’ll say anything because Aaron can do that now; he trusts Robert to talk if he needs to and Robert does, often. Robert talks about it in bed late at night, head tucked on Aaron’s shoulder, or walking home from the pub, or when they take a long drive out into the country to get away from the madness that is their families. 

It’s funny how things have changed. Robert was always the one who knew exactly who he was, good and bad, while Aaron didn’t know himself from one day to the next. Then Robert became a husband, then not a husband, then a husband again; a dad then not a dad; a deceiver then the deceived. It’s enough to do anyone’s head in. Meanwhile Aaron’s got himself sorted, or as close as he’s likely to get, and he can see Robert clearer than ever. He knows him through to his bones and loves him deeper than that, but he can see now that you can’t tell someone who they are; they have to figure it out for themselves. All Aaron can do is be there for him.

“Want to share chips?” says Aaron.

“As if. You’d hoover them up before I got a look in edgeways.”

“Mm.” 

They order. Robert gets the special with halloumi, Aaron gets the same beef burger he always gets, and the waiter brings them a couple of beers.

“I mean, they could have at least pretended it was genuine,” says Robert, who is clearly never going to let this go. “They didn’t even fake a snog. I can’t believe that registrar let them get away with it.”

“Maybe they’re private people.”

“Private people who didn’t give a shit about getting married. Did you see what the skinny one was wearing? I hope that it was just mud smeared on his anorak.”

“They’re farmers,” says Aaron. “They’re busy people. It got the job done.” There’s a thought there, scratching round the back of his head - something about truth and bones and the law, about being tied to the land and each other. About time, and commitment, and labour, and love.

“Got the scam done, you mean,” says Robert. “I should report them. That registrar clearly isn’t doing her job properly if she doesn’t ask any questions.” 

The big industrial light over their table illuminates every detail of Robert’s face. Aaron could count his freckles if he wanted, or his pale eyelashes. There are faint lines at the corners of Robert’s eyes; Aaron’s seen Robert poking at them in the bathroom mirror, and has been pretending to ignore the expensive-looking tubes of moisturiser multiplying around the sink for weeks now.

“Well, we could pop back there after lunch,” says Aaron, watching Robert’s face. “And while we’re there we could see if they’ve got any slots coming up. Make it legit.”

Robert gawps at him.

“If you want,” says Aaron, which is when their burgers arrive. Aaron has to look away to say thanks, and his is the beef burger actually, and no they don’t need any more drinks, conscious all the while of Robert staring at him. In hindsight he is prepared to concede that this isn’t the most romantic venue, but no-one’s ended up in hospital so far this time so he’s counting it as a win.

“Are you sure?” says Robert when the waiter’s finally gone. “Don’t say it if you’re not sure.”

“Yeah, I am.” Aaron desperately wants to be holding Robert’s hand right now but there are burgers, glasses, baskets of chips, a bottle of ketchup and a table in the way, so he’ll have to make do with words. “I want to marry you, legally. I’m shit at all this romantic stuff, you know that, but I love you. And if you’re not ready then I can wait, as long as you need.”

Robert looks down at his plate, blinking. There’s wetness at the edge of his eyes. Aaron realises with horror that he’s just made his husband cry in public. He’s never going to live this down.

“Robert-”

“No, I’m alright. Hang on.” Robert ducks his head down and rustles about in his shopping bag for a minute before emerging with a small box. “Here.”

There’s a watch inside. It’s nice - sleekly shining grey metal, a perfect match to the ring on Aaron’s finger. Smart but looks sturdy enough to survive all the knocks and scrapes that come with Aaron’s life.

“Nice,” says Aaron.

“I was going to get it engraved.”

“What with?”

“Hadn’t decided yet. Something soppy.”

“Ah.”

“I’ve been trying to wait,” says Robert. “I didn’t want to rush things, not after last time. And I wanted to propose properly. Not in a sodding burger bar.”

Aaron rolls his eyes. “So is that a yes then? You can plan the wedding and all that.”

“Obviously,” says Robert. “Like I’d leave that up to you.”

Robert still looks a bit wobbly so Aaron stands up and leans over the table to kiss him. Robert’s lips taste of salt, and he clutches Aaron’s hand like it’s a lifeline.

When they finally break free Aaron rests his forehead against Robert’s. “I’m not going anywhere,” he says. “Even if you order that fucking balloon arch.”

Robert huffs a laugh against Aaron’s lips. “Sit down, you heathen, your burger will be getting cold.”

Aaron does, and he applies himself to his food. It’s cooled a little but it’s still warm, and all this emotion has made him hungry. Robert does likewise and by the time they’ve both finished eating he looks a lot steadier.

“Seriously though,” says Robert, “you don’t want to have any input?”

Aaron shrugs. “You know what I like.”

“Yeah,” says Robert, and his grin is blinding. “Yeah, I do.”


End file.
